Tanning industry feels the heat

Consumers: Under Senate Bill 746, people under the age of 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds. At the iTan tanning salon in Mission Valley, Janelle Brown spends a few minutes in the UV tanning booth.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

Consumers: Under Senate Bill 746, people under the age of 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds. At the iTan tanning salon in Mission Valley, Janelle Brown spends a few minutes in the UV tanning booth.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

Janelle Brown gets a spray tan at a salon in Mission Valley. A spray tan can
provide some color without exposing a person to the risk of cancer.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

By the numbers

19,000 indoor tanning salons in the U.S.

160,000 employees at U.S. tanning salons

900 tanning salons in California

120 tanning salons in San Diego County

30 million Americans who use tanning beds every year

21 states, plus the District of Columbia, with no restrictions on minors using commercial tanning beds

$10 average cost of basic, single tanning bed session

Source: Indoor Tanning Association

Twice a week for 12 years, Kate Carlson visited her neighborhood tanning salon to maintain her year-round summer bronze look. However, last year after her work hours were cut and the barrage of warnings about the health risks of indoor tanning became more persistent, Carlson decided it was time to let her golden glow go.

“I still think I look better with a tan. But, I know this is better for me both financially and health-wise,” said the 29-year-old San Diegan, who now relies on drugstore self-tanning lotions to give her pale skin some color.

Tanning salon owners say it’s customers like Carlson who may cause the sun to set on some indoor tanning businesses.

The beleaguered tanning industry has been hit with a double — maybe even a triple — whammy.

First, the recession took a toll on the indoor tanning business, which relies on disposable income. Then last July, a 10 percent tax was imposed on indoor ultraviolet tanning as part of the national health care law.

Now tanning salon owners are anxiously waiting to see if a bill to ban indoor tanning by minors will make it through the state Legislature. If the American Academy of Dermatology-backed bill becomes law, California would be the first state in the nation with such a ban. Currently, customers ages 14 to 17 must have signed parental consents in this state.

Prohibiting teenagers from using tanning beds would add another burden to the tanning business that could eliminate as many as 10 percent to 15 percent of current customers, according to the Indoor Tanning Association in Washington, D.C.

“There’s no doubt that (tanning salon owners) are scrambling. It’s a tough time in this industry,” said John Overstreet, executive director of the tanning association, noting that more than 20 percent of tanning salons across the country have gone out of business in the last couple of years, and “that number is probably even higher in California.”

“I don’t think we will all be shut down, but I do think we have a real fight on our hands because the other side has tremendous resources,” he said.

Tanning salon owners admit that their businesses are facing difficult challenges, and some aren’t optimistic about their future.

“I think selling UV tans will be illegal pretty soon,” said Bruce Le, owner of Tan Diego in Clairemont. “I blame it on everything that’s going on — the economy, the tanning tax and the dermatologists who are bashing the industry. It’s driving even some loyal customers away.”

There are more than 900 tanning salons in California, with approximately 120 in San Diego County, according to the tanning association. Indoor tanning businesses employ 160,000 nationwide.